Applied Materials (AMAT) shares are trading lower today after Oppenheimer analyst Gary Hsueh cut his rating on the stock to Perform from Outperform, on new concerns about the company's fledgling solar business.

Hsueh says that the company's 1 GW thin-film solar contract with China-based Best Solar has been pushed out into 2010. He notes that while fears that tighter credit will hit the company's solar business are not new, but adds that the stock still trades at a significant premium to pure-play semi equipment companies....